Test Match Hotel

The Test Match Hotel is a public house built in 1938 by architect A. C. Wheeler for Hansons Ltd of Kimberley, with fittings provided by Harris & Sheldon. It is constructed in buff brick with a stone portico and red brick plinth and window heads, and is roofed in plain red tile with brick ridge and eaves stacks.

The building is planned with two bars at the front and a former off-licence to the left. Behind the off-licence is the public bar with its own separate entrance, while a large assembly room occupies the rear centre.

The exterior presents a near-symmetrical front elevation with a central section brought forward under a prostyle flat-roofed portico with paired columns to either side. Flanking the portico are 12-over-12 pane sash windows. The first floor features three 8-over-8 pane sash windows with segmental heads and matching curved sills. On the left of the facade, a wide bow shop window with small rectangular panes serves the former off-licence, with two 8-over-8 pane sash windows above. The right side has two 12-over-12 pane sashes on the ground floor and two 8-over-8 pane sashes on the first floor. Hopper heads are decorated with crossed cricket bat emblems. A shallow plain parapet tops the facade, with a hipped roof where the centre part rises slightly higher and breaks forward, containing two 8-over-8 pane sash windows with segmental heads. The left return features a long range with sash windows of varying configurations, while the ballroom and assembly room have large sash windows with semi-circular heads.

The interior retains extensive 1930s character. The front left-hand bar (lounge) is entered via a revolving door, with a staircase to the first floor featuring a bronze rail. An Art Deco-style fireplace with mirror and white marble surround stands flanked by sapele mahogany fluted columns. Fixed seating displays Art Deco detailing at the ends, as does the ceiling with its lighting. The bar counter was modified and extended in the late 20th century to fill the space beneath the stair. Wall panelling is English ash, decorated with panels of cricketing scenes and emblems. To the right lies a further bar, formerly a men-only smoke room with a lower ceiling, linked to the lounge bar by an opening widened in the late 20th century. This bar has similar wall panelling. An arch with semi-circular head and Art Deco detail leads to the gentlemen's toilet at the rear, above whose entrance is 1930s lettering reading "GENTLEMEN".

The public bar retains a complete assemblage of 1930s work. The floor is laid in terrazzo with bold geometrical patterns in yellow, grey, orange and black. The bar counter comprises three tiers of rectangular panels that break forward as they rise, with simple shelving at the back. A fire surround of slate blocks features angular detailing.

The assembly room has a gently curved ceiling with moulded transverse ribs and spine, with a moulded cornice at the springing featuring large projecting elements above brackets containing up-lighting. The floor is sprung maple. The bar counter and seating here were altered in the late 20th century. On the first floor, a cocktail lounge contains a curved bar counter, partly original to the 1930s with a late 20th-century canopy above. A fixed 1930s mirror engraved with a cocktail glass and bubbles is retained. A contemporary "LADIES" sign marks the landing. All public toilets retain their original 1930s tiling.

This is a highly distinctive public house of the 1930s and an early example of public house theming. It was the first public house licensed in West Bridgford in the twentieth century, and considerable expense was undertaken to develop a high-quality, well-fitted establishment. The near-complete survival of the 1930s plan and accompanying fittings is now extremely rare.